Feeding mechanism for cartri dg e-loadi ng machines



(No Model.)n

G. M. PETERS'.

FEEDING MEGHANISM FOR CARTRIDGE LOADING MAGHINES.

No. 398,651'. `Paenmad Feb. 26, 1889.

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n'rTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

(IERSIIOII MOORE PETERS, OF CINCINNATI, OIIIO.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR CARTRIDGE-LOADING MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 398,651, dated February 26, 1889.

Application tiled November 2G, 1988. Serial No. 291,848. (N0 modela at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and 3 State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism l for Cartridge-Loading Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertaius to make and use the same.

My invention relates to feeding mechanism for feeding shells and balls in cartridge-loading machines, and is an improvement on the device granted to me in Letters Iatent No. 360,041), March 2f), ISST, and No. 383,005, .lune a, isss. terially in operation in either-ease. The tilting bridge and shell-arresting hook shown in Patent No. 383,905 are now dispiinsed with.

The carrying-belts do lnot differ mav f The device is illustrated in theaecompanyoff into the side trough, T3, which is set at such .ing drawings, in which# Figure l is a vertical section ot' the shellfeeding mechanism. lig. 2 isa top plan view ot same; lfig. il, a detail section of the brush or device for preventing riders; Fig. l, a detail section ot' the top of the cage and trough for the ball or bullet feeding, Fig 5, a plan view of the belt therefor.

Referring .more particularly to the drawforward or upward the shells from the hopper. The cleats are regularly distributed along the belt and a little more than the length of a shell apart. The bottom of the hopper and trough being narrow, (scarcely more than the width of a shell,) the shells are obliged to travel lengthwise. Someti mes, however, there will be oneslwllupon another, and in order to prevent; these riders l haveplaeed a brush-wheel, lx', about midway the trough, and cause it 1o revolve at right angles to the trough b v means of gear-and-pulley attachments to the driving-pulley I. This brushwheel will permit one layerot shells to pass beneath it. Any more (or riders) will behrushed l angle as to cause the surplus shells orbullets to slide back into the hopper Q2. The upward e stream of shells is now onelayer in depth,but

they are moving sometimes with their butts tothe front and sometimes to the rear. As finally placed in the shell-holders, itis necessary that they ent-er butt. foremost. To acl eomplish this, there is an opening, V2, in the ings, A is a circular stationary table having a portion, ll, cut away to afford an opening for the passage of the shells to a hopper, Q2. Passing upward centrali y through this table is a shaft, F, to which is secured a horizontally-revolving wheel, C, divided into compartm ents by blades D, and the outer andin n er rims, E E. The wheel C rests on the stationary table A, and is moved by the shaft I?, which is actuated by a gearing meshing with the pinion G, which Ain turn is connected by means of a screw gearing to shaft II operated by pulley I, the movements of all being so bottom of the upper end of the trough T2. In this opening the shells coming butts forward will immediately tip and proceed through the cage. Those coming with the butts to the rear will be held baci: b y the extra weight of the butt until the open audlighter end passes the opening Y2, and is shoved up along the ingraduated as to give the wheelt a slow moveand any surplus shellsare allowed to drop out ment.

Into the compartments of the wheel (11 returned to the hopper.

menty is moved slowly around to the opening B, disehargingits shells into the hopper Q2.

eline Il until the butt-end, by the action of the belt, is brought over the opening, when it also drops down rightend foremost, and all are conducted by the cage )l2 to the shellplacer on the cartridge-machine. To avoid possible clogging `in thc cage, it is disconnected at M, the ends being slightly spread,

into a receptacle, whence they can be again This may be done by hand; but a return-belt for this purpose may be operated by the drivin g-pulley I.

In loading ride-cartridges the bullets are IOO . without falling.

distributed by Vmeans of the wheel Gand hopper Q2, already described; but the manner of conveying from the hopper to the cage M2 is slightly different. ItY is necessary that the square or concave end of the bulletii'i'st enter the cage and descend in this manner to the placer on the loadiiig-machine. To accomplish this a belt, with openings, or a chain havL ing alternately solid and open links, as S S', and moved by the sprocket-wheels O, takes the place of the cleated belt. The openings in the belt orrcliain are a little wider than the diameter and a little shorter than tlielength of the bullet, so that one end of thebulletwilldrop dowiiiiito the opening while the other en d rides on the edge. The end that drops into the opening should always be the square or concave end. To insure this, i't is necessary that the depth of tlie'opening should be less than onchalf the diameter of the bullet.

This will permit the edge always to slide under the pointed or rounded end ot the bullet, so holding up t-lie end and permitting the square or concave end to drop firstiiito the opening, which conducts it. to the cage M2, the opening /U in this case being placed not at the end of the belt, but some distance back. dien the square end of the bullet is in the rear, it is necessary to relieve its weight from the backend of the opening, so that Vit will readily turn into the discharge-opening r. To accomplish this, the bottoni ol the trough and belt are turned downward shortly bet'orc reaching said opening at J2. Should the square end of the bullet come foremost, then the incline will throw its weight onto the front edge ot the opening 8, and so permit it to ride over the opening U To prevent this, an obstacle, as L', is presented to stop its progress and throw it oit its bearing.

require skilled labor and constant attention in distribution, and but one person is needed Having thus describe d my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a device of the nature described, the combination, with a hopper, of an inclined trough, a belt passing along the bottoni of saine, and its actuating mechanism, and a re volving brush placed above the trough and moving across the path of the belt, subst-an tially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the hopper, of an inclined trough tapering to about the width of a shell, a belt suitably actuated and m0v ing along the bottom of said trough, a brush in the path of the belt and revolving at right angles thereto, and a side trough set at an angle to the hopper to receive shells or bullets thrown ott by said brush, as set forth.

The combination, with a hopper and a belt to draw forward the cartridges, ot a gradually-narrowing trough having an outlet-opening in its bottom, and a piece, L, at its upper end inclined at an angle to the bed of the trough to receive the open ends of t-he shells and lift the same as they are brought to the opening in the trough, substantially as set forth.

a. The combination, with the trough having an opening near its upper end, and a carrying-belt ruiming along said trough, of a cage divided'into two separate parts, the delivery end of the upper part being vertically above the receiving end of the lower part, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

The combination of an inclined trougl'r having a downwardly-iiiclined upper end, J2, a belt or chain having at regular intervals openings greater than the width and less than Q the length of a bullet, and havingan obstacle to feed the shells or bullets to three or more machines.

Moreover, the distribution is regin. the path of the bullet for arresting and By my device shells and bullets need not tilting saine, as and for the purpose set forth. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

e. uooRE PETERS.

ITfitnesses:

CHAs. J. HUNT, I. H. MACDONALD. 

